Stun grenades, which are also referred to as “flash grenades” and “flashbangs,” are nonlethal devices used by law enforcement and military personnel to stun suspects and adversaries. Stun grenades are typically configured to produce a blinding flash of light accompanied by a loud noise without causing permanent injury to those in the vicinity of a stun grenade ignition. The flash temporarily blinds and the loud blast temporarily causes loss of hearing and loss of balance in those in the vicinity when a stun grenade is ignited.
Some stun grenades, after a brief delay, ignite an entire quantity of payload material in what is referred to as a “single bang.” Frequently, stun grenades are initiated by pulling a pin and releasing a handle to activate a fuze. The fuse may ignite a column of delay material, which is formulated to provide a delay before a flame front in the delay material reaches an aperture in communication with the payload material, igniting it to provide a bright flash and loud report.
Other stun grenades, after a brief delay, separately ignite several quantities of payload material in a time-delayed sequence, which is sometimes referred to as a “multi-bang.” For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,963,227, issued Jun. 21, 2011, to Brunn, discloses a stun grenade including sleeves of flash charge material encircling a central delay column. Passages that are offset from one another both longitudinally and angularly in a helical pattern extend between the delay column and the sleeves of flash charge material. As the flame front proceeds along the delay column, the passages may enable sequential ignition of the sleeves of flash charge material, resulting in multiple, separate flashes of light and accompanying bangs.